Phosphorylation and sulfation share a common biosynthetic pathway, but extend biochemical and evolutionary diversity of biological macromolecules in distinct ways.

Phosphate and sulfate groups are integral to energy metabolism and introduce negative charges into biological macromolecules. One purpose of such modifications is to elicit precise binding/activation of protein partners. The physico-chemical properties of the two groups, while superficially similar, differ in one important respect-the valency of the central (phosphorus or sulfur) atom. This dictates the distinct properties of their respective esters, di-esters and hence their charges, interactions with metal ions and their solubility. These, in turn, determine the contrasting roles for which each group has evolved in biological systems. Biosynthetic links exist between the two modifications; the sulfate donor 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate being formed from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine phosphosulfate, while the latter is generated from sulfate anions and ATP. Furthermore, phosphorylation, by a xylosyl kinase (Fam20B, glycosaminoglycan xylosylkinase) of the xylose residue of the tetrasaccharide linker region that connects nascent glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains to their parent proteoglycans, substantially accelerates their biosynthesis. Following observations that GAG chains can enter the cell nucleus, it is hypothesized that sulfated GAGs could influence events in the nucleus, which would complete a feedback loop uniting the complementary anionic modifications of phosphorylation and sulfation through complex, inter-connected signalling networks and warrants further exploration.

Heparan sulphate, its derivatives and analogues share structural characteristics that can be exploited, particularly in inhibiting microbial attachment

Heparan sulphate (HS) and the related polysaccharide, heparin, exhibit conformational and charge arrangement properties, which provide a degree of redundancy allowing several seemingly distinct sequences to exhibit the same activity. This can also be mimicked by other sulphated polysaccharides, both in overall effect and in the details of interactions and structural consequences of interactions with proteins. Together, these provide a source of active compounds suitable for further development as potential drugs. These polysaccharides also possess considerable size, which bestows upon them an additional useful property: the capability of disrupting processes comprising many individual interactions, such as those characterising the attachment of microbial pathogens to host cells. The range of involvement of HS in microbial attachment is reviewed and examples, which include viral, bacterial and parasitic infections and which, in many cases, are now being investigated as potential targets for intervention, are identified.

Heparan sulphate, its derivatives and analogues share structural characteristics that can be exploited, particularly in inhibiting microbial attachment.

Heparan sulphate (HS) and the related polysaccharide, heparin, exhibit conformational and charge arrangement properties, which provide a degree of redundancy allowing several seemingly distinct sequences to exhibit the same activity. This can also be mimicked by other sulphated polysaccharides, both in overall effect and in the details of interactions and structural consequences of interactions with proteins. Together, these provide a source of active compounds suitable for further development as potential drugs. These polysaccharides also possess considerable size, which bestows upon them an additional useful property: the capability of disrupting processes comprising many individual interactions, such as those characterising the attachment of microbial pathogens to host cells. The range of involvement of HS in microbial attachment is reviewed and examples, which include viral, bacterial and parasitic infections and which, in many cases, are now being investigated as potential targets for intervention, are identified.

The conformation and structure of GAGs: recent progress and perspectives.

The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) family of linear sulphated polysaccharides are involved in most regulatory processes in the extracellular matrix of higher organisms. The relationship between GAG substitution pattern and activity, however, remains unclear and experimental evidence suggests that subtle conformational factors play an important role. The difficulty of modelling these complex charged molecules shifts the burden of investigation towards experimental techniques. Recent advances in complementary physical-chemical, particularly spectroscopy-based approaches are reviewed, together with methods for analysing the resulting complex data. The prospects for combining some of these approaches and fitting them into the wider context of interactions, are also discussed.

Spectroscopic and theoretical approaches for the determination of heparin saccharide structure and the study of protein-glycosaminoglycan complexes in solution.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), such as heparin and heparan sulphate, are a class of linear, anionic polysaccharides that constitute the carbohydrate component of proteoglycans. The structure of GAG complexes with proteins can reveal details of their mechanisms of action in living systems and help to design new pharmaceuticals. Molecular modelling together with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and other spectroscopic techniques such as circular dichroism (CD) provide indispensable information on structure and dynamics of GAGs and their complexes. The present review focuses on applications of high-resolution NMR, CD and molecular modelling to the analysis of GAGs. The most advanced theoretical methods used at present in GAG research, density functional theory methods (DFT), are also discussed.

Site-specific interactions of copper(II) ions with heparin revealed with complementary (SRCD, NMR, FTIR and EPR) spectroscopic techniques.

The interactions between Cu(II) ions and heparin were investigated using several complementary spectroscopic techniques. NMR indicated an initial binding phase involving specific coordination to four points in the structure that recur in slightly different environments throughout the heparin chain; the carboxylic acid group and the ring oxygen of iduronate-2-O-sulfate, the glycosidic oxygen between this residue and the adjacent (towards the reducing end) glucosamine and the 6-O-sulfate group. In contrast, the later binding phase showed little structural specificity. One- and two-dimensional correlated FTIR revealed that complex out of phase (asynchronous) conformational changes also occurred during the titration of Cu(II) ions into heparin, involving the CO and N-H stretches. EPR demonstrated that the environments of the Cu(II) ions in the initial binding phase were tetragonal (with slightly varied geometry), while the later non-specific phases exhibited conventional coordination. Visible spectroscopy confirmed a shift of the absorbance maximum. Titration of Cu(II) ions into a solution of heparin indicated (both by analysis of FTIR and EPR spectra) that the initial binding phase was complete by 15-20 Cu(II) ions per chain; thereafter the ions bound in the non-specific mode. Hetero-correlation spectroscopy (FTIR-CD) improved resolution and assisted assignment of the broad CD features from the FTIR spectra and indicated both in-phase and more complex out of phase (synchronous and asynchronous, respectively) changes in interactions within the heparin molecule during the titration of Cu(II) ions.

Protein-GAG interactions: new surface-based techniques, spectroscopies and nanotechnology probes.

New approaches, rooted in the physical sciences, have been developed to gain a more fundamental understanding of protein-GAG (glycosaminoglycan) interactions. DPI (dual polarization interferometry) is an optical technique, which measures real-time changes in the mass of molecules bound at a surface and the geometry of the bound molecules. QCM-D (quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation), an acoustic technique, measures the mass and the viscoelastic properties of adsorbates. The FTIR (Fourier-transform IR) amide bands I, II and III, resulting from the peptide bond, provide insight into protein secondary structure. Synchrotron radiation CD goes to much shorter wavelengths than laboratory CD, allowing access to chromophores that provide insights into the conformation of the GAG chain and of beta-strand structures of proteins. To tackle the diversity of GAG structure, we are developing noble metal nanoparticle probes, which can be detected at the level of single particles and so enable single molecule biochemistry and analytical chemistry. These new approaches are enabling new insights into structure-function relationships in GAGs and together they will resolve many of the outstanding problems in this field.

A gravimetric analysis of protein-oligosaccharide interactions.

Interactions between an immobilized, heparin-derived octasaccharide and growth factors have been observed using a quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation (QCM-D). This device can measure the amount of growth factors binding to the octasaccharide surface and also the change of dissipation of the surface. Dissipation is a measure of how the adhered material 'damps' the surface vibrations. The octasaccharides were anchored through their reducing ends by the intermediary of the alkanethiol molecule, which covalently binds to the crystal surface through the thiol group. As expected, heparin sulphate binding growth factors bound to the octasaccharide, but the change in mass of growth factor bound per unit change in dissipation is different for the different growth factors. Suggesting that the structures of the various growth factor-octasaccharide complexes are different, therefore, indicates that the change in dissipation can give insights into the structure, orientation and packing of the oligosaccharide-growth factor complexes.

Special report. Managers jumping into new healthcare models to survive hospital industry downsizing.

The rise of managed care and risk-sharing reimbursement have hospitals shedding personnel and banding together with other providers to protect margins in the face of plummeting occupancy rates. Those forces are taking their toll on the middle levels of hospitals' administrative structures. For many hospital managers, integration and reform promise uncertainty and unemployment. How can hospitals cushion the painful blow to mid-level management? And where do managers look when restructuring leaves them out of a job? Early communication and strong support structures are crucial to easing an organization through a difficult downsizing, one hospital found. For downsizing's management casualties, industry changes are creating opportunities outside the traditional hospital management structure, executive employment experts say.